"Let no freedom be allowed to novelty, because it is not fitting that any addition should be made to antiquity. Let not the clear faith and belief of our forefathers be fouled by any muddy admixture."
-- Pope Sixtus III

Friday, February 24, 2012

You can tell a lot about a man by the friends he keeps, but you can tell even more by the character of his enemies. Ex-Senator Brain Damage is one of the most reprehensible creatures to ever slither into American politics.

Former Senator Rick Santorum said part of his reasoning for supporting Arlen Specter’s bid for Senate in 2004 was a conversation with him about supporting the president’s nominees to the Supreme Court, but Spector says that conversation never took place.

Donate now and make Specter's few remaining years even more miserable...

In a week when much of the national media attention on former Sen. Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign focused on his views on contraception, the Gallup tracking poll showed Santorum’s support among women increasing by 12 points, vaulting him into a 10-point lead among women over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

In fact, Santorum’s support among women in this latest Gallup poll is stronger than his support among men.

In the week of Feb. 13-19, according to Gallup’s presidential primary tracking poll of registered Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents, Santorum led Romney 34 percent to 29 percent among men and 36 percent to 26 percent among women.

I wish it was needless to say, but real men don't wrap their johnsons in plastic, sterilize their women with chemicals, or chop their kids into little pieces.

TO: THE BABES

RE: "SOCIAL" ISSUES

All the pills, potions, "procedures", and perversions were created by evil cowardly "men" to rob you of your God-given power to civilize them. Don't let them take your femininity.

Over the past several weeks, Republicans have watched squeamishly as presidential contender Rick Santorum has waded into multiple controversies that risk alienating half the 2012 electorate: women.

But in fact, Santorum has grown more popular among women while talking about his opposition to abortion, his disapproval of birth control and his view that the federal government shouldn’t pay for prenatal screenings. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows not only that Santorum is doing better among GOP women than he was a few weeks ago, but also that he is less unpopular — and also less well known — among Democratic and independent women than his Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Voters and political strategists alike say Santorum’s rise has less to do with his views on these issues than on his ability to relate to the daily struggles of the middle class.

Hee-hee. Who knew refraining from murdering one's kids was a middle class value?

Nonetheless, the former senator from Pennsylvania and the other Republican candidates remain largely untested by the dynamics of a general election in which independent and Democratic women are expected to play a deciding role...

Hmmm...

The Post-ABC poll, conducted on the heels of a week of scrutiny of Santorum’s conservative views on a variety of women’s health issues, shows that his popularity among GOP women has moved up 13 points since January, with the biggest bump in the past week, so that 57 percent hold a favorable view. Santorum is now within reach of Romney on that score: Sixty-one percent of Republican women view Romney favorably. Romney has higher negative ratings among GOP women than Santorum does — 28 percent to 18 percent — and those negative ratings of Romney have grown over time...

Double hmmm...

But there is no evidence that Santorum’s position among women in either party has dropped in recent weeks. That is a surprise to some Republicans, who have watched uncomfortably as he has engaged in high-profile discussions about abortion, contraception and prenatal screening.

Much of the talk has centered around past speeches and interviews, in which Santorum declared that birth control doesn’t work and that it “is harmful to women” and the country. He argued that the use of birth control encourages sex outside of marriage, particularly among the young. On abortion, Santorum said that the government should not fund prenatal testing because in the majority of cases when such tests diagnose a disability in the fetus, women choose to abort.

“I’m not a believer in birth control, artificial birth control,” Santorum — who is Catholic and with his wife, Karen, has seven children — said in a 2006 television interview. “I think it goes down the line of being able to do whatever you want to do without the responsibility that comes with it.”

Many Republicans consider contraception a losing debate. Birth control pills were first approved for use in the United States in 1960 and more than 12 million American women use them, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The subject surfaced again during a Republican debate this week. Asked their views on the subject (and briefly booed by an audience that seemed to recognize the perils of the question), the candidates steered away from speaking directly to their positions. Instead, Santorum, Romney and Gingrich sought to characterize the issue as a question of religious freedom — and to accuse President Obama of attacking religious liberties by seeking to mandate that all employers, even religious institutes, cover contraceptives for employees.

“This isn’t an argument about contraceptives,” Romney said. “This is a discussion about, are we going to have a nation which preserves the foundation of the nation, which is the family, or are we not?”

Let's skip ahead to the meat of the story which, as usual, is buried near the end...

Santorum is the only candidate who talks regularly about his family — and even about the price of milk, as he did recently. His campaign, too, has taken pains to cast his policies in a woman-friendly light, issuing a policy statement that describes his mother as the “primary breadwinner” when he was growing up and his wife as a lawyer, nurse and author.

“Rick knows firsthand what it means to run the carpool, pick up the kids from practice, help with homework and drop them off at their friends’ houses, all while trying to get to work on time or home for dinner with the family,” the statement reads.

One Republican strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely said polling data and focus groups of women show that they are less turned off by candidates’ views on women’s health issues than they are by the bickering on the debate stage.

“What I find is that women tend to be remarkably practical in these conversations,” the strategist said. “How is this going to impact the daily lives of myself and my family, at the very practical level?”

...the Asian American Journalists Association has issued a set of guidelines for media outlets salivating over the NBA's Asian-American sensation.

"As NBA player Jeremy Lin's prowess on the court continues to attract international attention and grab headlines, AAJA would like to remind media outlets about relevance and context regarding coverage of race," the group wrote in an advisory. "In the past weeks, as more news outlets report on Lin, his game and his story, AAJA has noticed factual inaccuracies about Lin's background as well as an alarming number of references that rely on stereotypes about Asians or Asian Americans."

Due to time constraints, we now move to further action...

Below are the AAJA's guidelines in full:

THE FACTS

1. Jeremy Lin is Asian American, not Asian (more specifically, Taiwanese American). It's an important distinction and one that should be considered before any references to former NBA players such as Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, who were Chinese. Lin's experiences were fundamentally different than people who immigrated to play in the NBA. Lin progressed through the ranks of American basketball from high school to college to the NBA, and to characterize him as a foreigner is both inaccurate and insulting.

2. Lin's path to Madison Square Garden: More than 300 division schools passed on him. Harvard University has had only three other graduates go on to the NBA, the most recent one being in the 1950s. No NBA team wanted Lin in the draft after he graduated from Harvard.

3. Journalists don't assume that African American players identify with NBA players who emigrated from Africa. The same principle applies with Asian Americans. It's fair to ask Lin whether he looked up to or took pride in the accomplishments of Asian players. He may have. It's unfair and poor journalism to assume he did.

4. Lin is not the first Asian American to play in the National Basketball Association. Raymond Townsend, who's of Filipino descent, was a first-round choice of the Golden State Warriors in the 1970s. Rex Walters, who is of Japanese descent, was a first-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets out of the University of Kansas in 1993 and played seven seasons in the NBA; Walters is now the coach at University of San Francisco. Wat Misaka is believed to have been the first Asian American to play professional basketball in the United States. Misaka, who's of Japanese descent, appeared in three games for the New York Knicks in the 1947-48 season when the Knicks were part of the Basketball Association of America, which merged with the NBA after the 1948-49 season.

DANGER ZONES

"CHINK": Pejorative; do not use in a context involving an Asian person on someone who is Asian American. Extreme care is needed if using the well-trod phrase "chink in the armor"; be mindful that the context does not involve Asia, Asians or Asian Americans. (The appearance of this phrase with regard to Lin led AAJA MediaWatch to issue statement to ESPN, which subsequently disciplined its employees.)

DRIVING: This is part of the sport of basketball, but resist the temptation to refer to an "Asian who knows how to drive."

EYE SHAPE: This is irrelevant. Do not make such references if discussing Lin's vision.

FOOD: Is there a compelling reason to draw a connection between Lin and fortune cookies, takeout boxes or similar imagery? In the majority of news coverage, the answer will be no.

MARTIAL ARTS: You're writing about a basketball player. Don't conflate his skills with judo, karate, tae kwon do, etc. Do not refer to Lin as "Grasshopper" or similar names associated with martial-arts stereotypes.

"ME LOVE YOU LIN TIME": Avoid. This is a lazy pun on the athlete's name and alludes to the broken English of a Hollywood caricature from the 1980s.

"YELLOW MAMBA": This nickname that some have used for Lin plays off the "Black Mamba" nickname used by NBA star Kobe Bryant. It should be avoided. Asian immigrants in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries were subjected to discriminatory treatment resulting from a fear of a "Yellow Peril" that was touted in the media, which led to legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.

The good news for Rick Santorum is that the latest poll numbers from Gallup have him leading Mitt Romney by 10 points; the bad news is that respondents also think Romney, not Santorum, is the GOP's best shot at beating Barack Obama.

This time around, President Barack Obama's message can sound decidedly down-to-earth.

Four years after winning the White House, Obama is dealing with a different economic and political reality as he seeks re-election. He's focused less on a lofty vision for overcoming divisions and remaking Washington, and more on the most basic building blocks of middle-class economic security: a job, a house, a college education for the kids, health care, money for retirement.

What Obama describes as the American Dream can seem a spare, fundamental aspiration, tailored for a campaign that looks to be fought over who is best equipped to safeguard the interests of middle-class Americans.

The question is whether it will convince, even as Mitt Romney and the other GOP presidential hopefuls mount a counter-argument that the president has made the American Dream harder, not easier, to achieve. And Obama must overcome the grinding realities many voters confront daily, even with the economy showing signs of life: no jobs, mortgages they can't pay, dwindling retirement funds and college savings.

The president is betting that if he shows voters he understands their yearning for economic stability and security, [Emphasis mine. - F.G.] they'll reward him over Republicans he's casting as just watching out for the rich — even though he hasn't succeeded in fully reviving the economy so far.

Penn State students put their best feet forward over the weekend, raising a record $10.6 million for the fight against pediatric cancer through the school's annual dance marathon.

“THON” is the world's largest student-run philanthropy, with all proceeds going to The Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

The record total came in spite of the recent turmoil at Penn State, which began when a scandal involving a former assistant football coach erupted in early November. The school also had to cope with the death of Hall of Fame former football coach Joe Paterno in January.

The fund-raising efforts of the students against such a difficult backdrop -- and in such a difficult economy -- was not lost on the Paterno family, especially his son, Jay. The former Nittany Lion assistant coach took the THON stage in the Bryce Jordan Center as the event was winding down Sunday and predicted the record total.

“When the storm clouds gathered around campus in November, many ran for the hills,” he said, according to the student Web site Onward State. “But not the students. … You guys stood your ground, you kept up the fight, and later on this afternoon you're going to shock the world.

“If you live to be 100, what you've done here the past two days, weeks, months -- all this time you've put into this -- what you've done will echo in eternity.”

This year's total smashed the previous record of $9.5 million, which was set last year. Since 1973, THON has raised more than $88 million for the fight against pediatric cancer.

More than 700 dancers participated in the marathon, starting Friday afternoon and dancing for the following 46 hours. Tens of thousands of visitors stopped by the arena to check out the action. Also on hand were many of the pediatric cancer patients and survivors who have benefitted from funds raised at THON.

The event concluded at 4 p.m. Sunday.

In the past, Joe Paterno would make a point of stopping by THON with his wife Sue to take the stage and motivate the dancers as only he could. In 2009, he was moved to tears when he said, “I wish the whole world could see and feel what is in this room right now. Love and commitment and the dedication. … It's been 58 years at Penn State. I've never been more proud than right now.”

Though the coach died Jan 22 following a short bout with lung cancer, his presence was still felt at this year's event. Shortly after his passing, Paterno's family requested that in lieu of flowers or gifts, that donations be made in his memory to THON or Pennsylvania Special Olympics.

A day after telling an Ohio audience that Barack Obama's agenda is based on 'some phony theology, not a theology based on the Bible,' Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he wasn't criticizing the president's Christianity.

'I've repeatedly said I don't question the president's faith. I've repeatedly said that I believe the president's Christian,' Mr Santorum said in a broadcast interview Sunday.

'I am talking about his world view, and the way he approaches problems in this country. I think they're different than how most people do in America.'

Of course, the Old Gray Whore always pay attention, but she is a high priestess of the masturbatory death cult and must protect the Jug-Eared One.

Some Republicans are suggesting it's not too late to find another presidential candidate if Mitt Romney loses in the Michigan primary next week. Others admit that scenario isn't likely.

Romney was raised in Michigan and his father served as the state's governor. Four years ago Romney soundly defeated other GOP candidates there.

Now ABC News quotes one prominent GOP senator who requested anonymity as saying, "If Romney cannot win Michigan, we need a new candidate." He felt, "we'd get killed" if Romney lost Michigan and ended up as the GOP nominee facing President Barack Obama in November.

Speaking to Fox News, Newt Gingrich acknowledged losing in a supposed "home" state would be a problem for any of the Republican hopefuls. "If any of the three loses our home state, if Santorum loses Pennsylvania, Romney loses Michigan, or I lose Georgia, you have, I think, very badly weakened candidacies," he said.

Several political blogs suggest that Republican leaders aren't above shopping for a new candidate if Romney loses Michigan. The biggest name suggested is former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Other names being raised include Sarah Palin and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.

However, according to a Politico blog, "Most concede that it's late in the game and such a scenario is highly unlikely."

"Despite the grumbling, party operatives admit that the chances of a late entrant at this stage are akin to a walk down Imagination Lane," it continued.

If a new candidate were able to get on the ballot for every remaining primary for which the filing deadline hasn't passed, it would include only 11 states worth 482 convention delegates. That's not even half the number needed to clinch the nomination.

Some say the solution may be a contested convention in which the GOP is not settled on a nominee when they convene in Tampa in August. But even that's not a guarantee to generate a strong, different candidate. And experts say if Romney comes in with a strong plurality of delegates it would still be difficult to unseat him.

The latest Gallup poll released Sunday shows Rick Santorum leading Romney by 8 points in Michigan.

About Me

First of all, the word is SEX, not GENDER. If you are ever tempted to use the word GENDER, don't. The word is SEX! SEX! SEX! SEX! For example: "My sex is male." is correct.
"My gender is male." means nothing. Look it up.
What kind of sick neo-Puritan nonsense is this? Idiot left-fascists, get your blood-soaked paws off the English language. Hence I am choosing "male" under protest.